Did you know that there’s a Yakuza game set in 17th century Japan that blends real historical figures with the iconic characters of the Yakuza universe that we never got a release of here in the west? And no, I’m not talking about Ishin, I’m talking about the one that came many years before it. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan. This was not only the first spin-off of the series that we would never see released outside of Asian markets, but also the first Yakuza game ever made for the PS3. And it’s pretty safe to say that this is also the least accessible game in the franchise, as the only way to play the game is to import a copy from Japan and experience the entire thing fully in Japanese. So I went ahead and got myself an imported copy of Kenzan, played through the entire thing while managing to understand the majority of the game’s story and systems, and I now feel pretty well-equipped to cover the game properly. And at the risk of playing my hand too early, I’ve come to find that Kenzan is a massively underappreciated gem that deserves to be talked about way more within the Yakuza community. So buckle up as we take a good look at the Yakuza game that we never got.
Full Yakuza Series: • A First Timer's Journey Into Yakuza
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3. It is a jidaigeki-themed spin-off game in the Like a Dragon series. It was unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 and released exclusively in Japan on March 6, 2008. Kenzan! is a dramatic telling of the life of the historical figure Miyamoto Musashi, who retired and adopted a new identity, but is later drawn into a new conflict where he must hunt down an imposter using his namesake. A second Like a Dragon series spin-off set in samurai era, Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!, was released in 2014 on both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4 systems, though Ishin! is set two centuries later than Kenzan! and is not considered a narrative sequel.
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